At Vertos, we empower healthcare providers and patients with minimally invasive treatments for LSS (lumbar spinal stenosis). After witnessing the impact that LSS has on millions of patients’ quality of life annually, it became not just our goal — but our mission — to help patients suffering from back pain reclaim their quality of life using the simplest, safest, most durable, and early treatment available.
Allowing patients to get back to what matters most to them is what matters most to us. From playing with their grandkids or golfing with friends to getting a better night’s sleep and doing it all over again, we want to help patients find joy every day by increasing their mobility and reducing their pain — in the least invasive way.
Our Journey
The story behind the mild® Procedure
In 2005, the mild® Procedure was created to fill a treatment gap for patients who developed spinal stenosis but were not willing or able to tolerate spine surgery.
Since then, patient access has expanded greatly and mild® serves as a standard of care for interventionalists nationwide. Thousands of patients are treated every year and the procedure is supported by FDA clearance, national Medicare coverage, leading medical institutions and national medical societies. Sixteen clinical trials, including Level 1 data, and over 30 peer-reviewed articles demonstrate that the mild® Procedure is just that - mild.
Our Values
At Vertos, we are driven to change the standard of care with durable, first-line treatments that improve quality of life for patients suffering from back pain
Empathy
We see the suffering that LSS patients endure and we want to make a lasting impact in their lives.
Integrity
We believe in the mild® Procedure, recommending it to friends, family and anyone who may benefit from it.
Innovation
We are in continuous pursuit to advance and provide optimal LSS care.
Collaboration
We partner with the nation’s leading institutions and healthcare providers to ensure LSS patients have access to mild® as a treatment option.
Let's Get Moving
Offering decades of experience and expertise in the healthcare field, our team continues to advance minimally invasive technologies to help the millions of patients suffering from LSS return to a better quality of life.
Our Leadership Team
Eric Wichems
President and Chief Executive Officer
Eric Wichems
President and Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Wichems joined Vertos Medical in September 2011 and served as Vice President of Sales and Marketing prior to becoming president, chief executive officer and member of the board of directors. Previously, Mr. Wichems served as director of marketing for medical devices in the plastic surgery market for Allergan Medical. He has almost two decades of healthcare industry experience in marketing, sales, strategic planning, and operations at Vertos, Allergan and Johnson & Johnson.
Mr. Wichems earned a bachelor degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Virginia, a master degree in engineering from North Carolina State University, and an MBA from Duke University.
Rebecca Colbert
Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer
Rebecca Colbert
Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer
Ms. Colbert brings both financial and commercial experience to her role at Vertos Medical. Previously, she held the position of vice president, customer and sales operations for the surgical division of Bausch & Lomb. Ms. Colbert also served in several roles including vice president, finance & sales operations for eyeonics Inc., an ophthalmic device company whose rapid growth and impending IPO prompted Bausch & Lomb to acquire the company in February 2008.
Ms. Colbert is a certified public accountant who began her career in public accounting with Deloitte. She earned a bachelor degree in business administration from the University of Texas and master of accounting from the University of Southern California.
Stephen E. Paul
Vice President of Sales
Stephen E. Paul
Vice President of Sales
Mr. Paul joined Vertos Medical with over 20 years of experience building and managing high performance commercial teams in medical device and consumer industries. He is a seasoned sales and commercial operations executive who has played key roles in global P&L management, mergers and acquisitions, and business development. Prior to joining Vertos Medical, Mr. Paul served as the Vice President of Global Sales and Commercial Operations for Breg, an Orthopedic/Sports Medicine company, where his leadership and development skills assisted in more than doubling the company’s business. As the Executive Vice President of US Acute Care Sales for Masimo Corporation, he led all US hospital sales and was responsible for GPO, IDN, corporate sales, and military and government sales teams. Mr. Paul also spent more than a decade with Boston Scientific, primarily as the Western Area Sales Director for the Oncology Division.
Mr. Paul earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of California, Santa Barbara and frequently pursues professional development opportunities. He is an accomplished speaker and motivator who is passionate about leading his teams to success.
Karen Davis
Vice President of Clinical Research
Karen Davis
Vice President of Clinical Research
Ms. Davis has been in the medical device industry for over 20 years, including 13 years in interventional neurovascular with ev3 Neurovascular and Micro Therapeutics Inc. Her experience has included positions in marketing, business development, and clinical research. Ms. Davis was senior director of clinical research at ev3 Neurovascular, where her responsibilities included implementation and management of all clinical studies worldwide. Ms. Davis also served as director of business development for Intersect Partners, a medical device incubator. Ms. Davis began her career on Wall Street with Merrill Lynch and Needham & Company, where she was vice president of corporate finance and head of the Healthcare Investment Banking Group. Ms. Davis holds a BA in mathematics from Colorado College and an MBA from Stanford University.
David P. Lalor Jr.
Vice President of Operations, Regulatory Affairs/Quality Assurance
David P. Lalor Jr.
Vice President of Operations, Regulatory Affairs/Quality Assurance
Mr. Lalor brings to Vertos Medical over 25 years of medical device leadership experience in manufacturing, quality control and product development. Prior to joining Vertos Medical, Mr. Lalor held various operational and technical management positions at C. Brewer Co., ev3, Terumo, 3M Health Care, and Cardiovascular Devices Inc. (prior to its successful acquisition by 3M Health Care).
Mr. Lalor has been a key leader in successful product launches, scaling up manufacturing capacity, and improving product quality. He holds a bachelor of science in mechanical engineering from California State University, Long Beach.
Mehrzad Khakpour, PhD
Vice President of Research & Development
Mehrzad Khakpour, PhD
Vice President of Research & Development
Dr. Khakpour brings over 20 years of experience in medical device research and innovation, and has been responsible for development and launch of multiple market disrupting products. He comes to Vertos Medical from Sonendo, a medical technology company focused on saving teeth from tooth decay with industry-first dental innovation. As the Chief Technology Officer, he was responsible for the development and management of the IP and product portfolio and roadmap since the inception until IPO. He is enthusiastic about building a culture of innovation and results-oriented, innovative, and agile R&D teams.
Dr. Khakpour earned a bachelor of science degree from Sharif University of Technology, a master of science degree from the University of Minnesota, and a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Riverside. In addition, he will soon be completing the Chief Product Officer Program at Kellogg Executive Education, Northwestern University.
Philip Macdonald
Vice President of Market Access and Reimbursement
Philip Macdonald
Vice President of Market Access and Reimbursement
Mr. Macdonald joined Vertos Medical with over 20 years of experience across various disciplines of healthcare economics, reimbursement, product and provider service line development, payers and health policy; and his experience includes prior work with medical device manufacturers Given Imaging (Medtronic), Siemens, St. Jude Medical, and Bayer. He was Vice President, Healthcare Economics, Policy & Reimbursement at EndoGastric Solutions (EGS) before joining Vertos Medical. He has also worked in the provider sector for HCA corporate in Strategic Development.
Mr. Macdonald brings to Vertos Medical experience dealing with product commercialization with early and late state startups, CPT development, Medicare payment setting, medical societies and trade association advocacy work, and success in gaining coverage by public and commercial insurers.
Mr. Macdonald earned a doctorate in Healthcare Management & Economics from the University of La Verne (La Verne, CA), as well as a master's in Hospital Administration and a bachelor's in History and Political Science from the University of Memphis. He has numerous publications.
Mr. Harel currently serves on the Board of Directors of DouxMatok, EarlySense, Medisafe, CLEW Medical, TScan, Connie Health, ImmuneID and Visby Medical. He also serves as the Chairman of the Board at EarlySense.
His investments focus on Digital Health, Health-IT and MedTech, and he brings with him over 15 years of experience in Venture Capital as well as 20 years of experience in operations and management roles.
Before joining Pitango, Mr. Harel headed Corporate Development at Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ: NKTR), served as Executive Vice President roles at IDGene Pharmaceuticals and IDEXX Laboratories (NASDAQ: IDXX).
Mr. Harel holds a BS in Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology from Ben-Gurion University, and an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management.
Hugo Harrod
Partner, MVM Partners LLP
Hugo Harrod
Partner, MVM Partners LLP
Mr. Harrod is a partner at MVM Partners LLP, which he joined in 2005, and has managed investments from both the London and Boston offices. Mr. Harrod currently serves on the board of SkyCell AG. He was previously a director of Horizon Discovery Limited (LSE: HZD, acquired by PerkinElmer), AccuVein, Inc., and eZono AG, and led MVM’s investment into BioVex Limited (acquired by Amgen).
Mr. Harrod received financial training at KPMG, and holds a degree in Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry from Oxford University.
Rob Kuhling
General Partner and Managing Director, ONSET Ventures
Rob Kuhling
General Partner and Managing Director, ONSET Ventures
Mr. Kuhling invests both in medical device companies and IT companies, and has particular insight into the complexities of bringing a medical device to market. His past investments include AccessClosure, AneuRx, Clarify, Conceptus, Alteon, Packeteer, Embolic Protection, Endotex, Endocardial Solutions, Neuronetics, and Apama.
Mr. Kuhling has been with ONSET since 1987, following a career at Sun Microsystems, where he was Director of Marketing and spearheaded the company’s expansion into the design automation marketplace. He had previously served as VP and Manager of General Electric-Calma’s $100 million electronic design automation business, and was also a team leader for Boston Consulting Group, overseeing the development of a range of corporate business strategies.
Rob received his B.A. from Hamilton College, and his MBA from Harvard Business School.
Daniel Pelak
Operating Partner, Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe
Daniel Pelak
Operating Partner, Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe
Mr. Pelak has served as a Director of Vertos since 2008. He is an Operating Partner with Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe (WCAS), focusing on investments in the healthcare industry. Prior to joining WCAS, Mr. Pelak was the CEO of InnerPulse, Inc., a privately held, early-stage cardiac medical device company. Additionally, he was the CEO of Closure Medical Corporation, a publicly-traded biomaterial-based medical adhesive company, until its acquisition by Johnson & Johnson in 2005.
Mr. Pelak began his career in the medical device industry at Medtronic Inc., where he spent over 20 years. His executive assignments at Medtronic included worldwide responsibility for three different operating divisions as Vice President and General Manager, prior to those roles he was the Vice President of US Marketing.
During Mr. Pelak’s career he has served on the Board of Directors of 11 public and privately held medical device companies. Currently, in addition to the Vertos Board, he serves on the Alucent Medical Board of Directors.
Eric Wichems
President and Chief Executive Officer
Eric Wichems
President and Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Wichems joined Vertos Medical in September 2011 and served as Vice President of Sales and Marketing prior to becoming president, chief executive officer and member of the board of directors. Previously, Mr. Wichems served as director of marketing for medical devices in the plastic surgery market for Allergan Medical. He has almost two decades of healthcare industry experience in marketing, sales, strategic planning, and operations at Vertos, Allergan and Johnson & Johnson.
Mr. Wichems earned a bachelor degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Virginia, a master degree in engineering from North Carolina State University, and an MBA from Duke University.
Our Media Coverage
Explore Articles, Blogs, News Stories and Press Releases
5-Year Study Demonstrates 88% of mild® Patients Avoided Surgical Decompression for at Least 5 Years While Experiencing Significant Symptom Relief
According to the study, the mild® Procedure significantly decreased the incidence of surgical decompression at the same treatment level(s) as mild® intervention during five-year follow-up. Nine out of 75 patients required lumbar surgical decompression at the same level during the follow-up period, making the annual incidence of same-level lumbar-decompression surgery just 2.4%. Subjects experienced statistically significant pain relief and reduction of opioid medications utilization at 3, 6, and 12 months compared to baseline. There were no major complications reported.
At Vertos, we care. We care about patients. We care about the healthcare community. We care about our employees and we care about making a difference by changing the standard of care for the LSS community. If this resonates with you, and you’re a motivated and experienced professional, you may be a great fit for our team. We are proud to be an and would love to hear from you.
Every person is a valuable part of the team. Every voice is heard and respected. Employees demonstrate perseverance, integrity and a can-do attitude.
Life-changing Impact
We help thousands of patients find lasting relief from LSS pain and regain mobility each year with the mild® Procedure.
Dynamic Environment
Our forward-thinking abilities and fast-paced practices encourage employee growth, teamwork and autonomy across the organization.
Our Employees
Find out what our team has to say about Vertos and the mild® Procedure
To hear stories from patients about how they can walk, golf and spend more time with family is just incredible. I stand behind the mild® Procedure and love talking to anyone I can about it.
Initially I chose to work at Vertos because it offered the ability to create a market that really didn’t exist and a smaller company atmosphere/culture that allowed my voice to be heard as an employee.
The company has an incredible reputation around its culture for both performance and accountability. Team members are valued and there is a true opportunity to make changes in people's lives and within the company itself.
I was impressed with the strong sense of team and integrity, company-wide, as well as the vision and disruptive product that gives patients a safe yet effective option to address their chronic pain.
Benyamin RM, Staats PS, MiDAS ENCORE Investigators. mild® is an effective treatment for lumbar spinal stenosis with neurogenic claudication: MiDAS ENCORE Randomized Controlled Trial. Pain Physician. 2016;19(4):229-242.
Mekhail N, Costandi S, Abraham B, Samuel SW. Functional and patient-reported outcomes in symptomatic lumbar spinal stenosis following percutaneous decompression. Pain Pract. 2012;12(6):417-425. doi:10.1111/j.1533-2500.2012.00565.x.
2012 data from Health Market Sciences report for Vertos Medical 2013.
Data on file with Vertos Medical.
Staats PS, Chafin TB, Golvac S, et al. Long-term safety and efficacy of minimally invasive lumbar decompression procedure for the treatment of lumbar spinal stenosis with neurogenic claudication: 2-year results of MiDAS ENCORE. Reg Anesth Pain Med. 2018;43:789-794. doi:10.1097/AAP.0000000000000868.
Based on mild® Procedure data collected in all clinical studies. Major complications are defined as dural tear and blood loss requiring transfusion.
MiDAS ENCORE responder data. On file with Vertos Medical.
Jain S, Deer TR, Sayed D, et al. Minimally invasive lumbar decompression: a review of indications, techniques, efficacy and safety. Pain Manag. 2020;10(5). https://doi.org/10.2217/pmt-2020-0037. Accessed June 1, 2020.
Deer TR, Grider JS, Pope JE, et al. The MIST Guidelines: the Lumbar Spinal Stenosis Consensus Group guidelines for minimally invasive spine treatment. Pain Pract. 2019;19(3)250-274. doi:10.1111/papr.12744.
Hansson T, Suzuki N, Hebelka H, Gaulitz A. The narrowing of the lumbar spinal canal during loaded MRI: the effects of the disc and ligamentum flavum. Eur Spine J. 2009;18(5):679-686. doi:10.1007/s00586-009-0919-7.
Treatment options shown are commonly offered once conservative therapies (e.g., physical therapy, pain medications, chiropractic) are not providing adequate relief. This is not intended to be a complete list of all treatments available. Doctors typically recommend treatments based on their safety profile, typically prioritizing low risk/less aggressive procedures before higher risk/more aggressive procedures, but will determine which treatments are appropriate for their patients.
Although the complication rate for the mild® Procedure is low, as with most surgical procedures, serious adverse events, some of which can be fatal, can occur, including heart attack, cardiac arrest (heart stops beating), stroke, and embolism (blood or fat that migrates to the lungs or heart). Other risks include infection and bleeding, spinal cord and nerve injury that can, in rare instances, cause paralysis. This procedure is not for everyone. Physicians should discuss potential risks with patients. For complete information regarding indications for use, warnings, precautions, and methods of use, please reference the devices’Instructions for Use.
Patient stories on this website reflect the results experienced by individuals who have undergone the mild® Procedure. Patients are not compensated for their testimonial. The mild® Procedure is intended to treat lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) caused by ligamentum flavum hypertrophy. Although patients may experience relief from the procedure, individual results may vary. Individuals may have symptoms persist or evolve or other conditions that require ongoing medication or additional treatments. Please consult with your doctor to determine if this procedure is right for you.
Reimbursement, especially coding, is dynamic and changes every year. Laws and regulations involving reimbursement are also complex and change frequently. Providers are responsible for determining medical necessity and reporting the codes that accurately describe the work that is done and the products and procedures that are furnished to patients. For this reason, Vertos Medical strongly recommends that you consult with your payers, your specialty society, or the AMA CPT regarding coding, coverage and payment.
Vertos Medical cannot guarantee coding, coverage, or payment for products or procedures. View our Billing Guide.
Vertos is an equal employment opportunity workplace committed to pursuing and hiring a diverse workforce. We strive to grow our team with highly skilled people who share our culture and values. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, age, color, race, religion, marital status, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, gender identity, physical & mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, veteran status, or any other basis protected by federal, state or local law.
Hall S, Bartleson JD, Onofrio BM, Baker HL Jr, Okazaki H, O’Duffy JD. Lumbar spinal stenosis. Clinical features, diagnostic procedures, and results of surgical treatment in 68 patients. Ann Intern Med. 1985;103(2):271-275. doi:10.7326/0003-4819-103-2-271.
Kalichman L, Cole R, Kim DH, et al. Spinal stenosis prevalence & association with symptoms: The Framingham Study. Spine J. 2009;9(7):545-550. doi:10.1016/j.spinee.2009.03.005.
Fukusaki M, Kobayashi I, Hara T, Sumikawa K. Symptoms of spinal stenosis do not improve after epidural steroid injection. Clin J Pain. 1998;14(2):148-151. doi:10.1097/00002508-199806000-00010.
Mekhail N, Costandi S, Nageeb G, Ekladios C, Saied O. The durability of minimally invasive lumbar decompression procedure in patients with symptomatic lumbar spinal stenosis: Long-term follow-up [published online ahead of print, 2021 May 4]. Pain Pract. 2021;10.1111/papr.13020. doi:10.1111/papr.13020
Friedly JL, Comstock BA, Turner JA, et al. Long-Term Effects of Repeated Injections of Local Anesthetic With or Without Corticosteroid for Lumbar Spinal Stenosis: A Randomized Trial. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2017;98(8):1499-1507.e2. doi:10.1016/j.apmr.2017.02.029
Pope J, Deer TR, Falowski SM. A retrospective, single-center, quantitative analysis of adverse events in patients undergoing spinal stenosis with neurogenic claudication using a novel percutaneous direct lumbar decompression strategy. J Pain Res. 2021;14:1909-1913. doi: 10.2147/JPR.S304997
Pryzbylkowski P, Bux A, Chandwani K, et al. Minimally invasive direct decompression for lumbar spinal stenosis: impact of multiple prior epidural steroid injections [published online ahead of print, 2021 Aug 4]. Pain Manag. 2021;10.2217/pmt-2021-0056. doi:10.2217/pmt-2021-0056
Abstract presented at: American Society of Pain and Neuroscience Annual Conference; July 22-25, 2021; Miami Beach, FL.
Mobility Matters: Low Back Pain in America, Harris Poll Survey, 2022. View data and full summary at knowyourbackstory.com.
Deer TR, Grider JS, Pope JE, et al. Best Practices for Minimally Invasive Lumbar Spinal Stenosis Treatment 2.0 (MIST): Consensus Guidance from the American Society of Pain and Neuroscience (ASPN). J Pain Res. 2022;15:1325-1354. Published 2022 May 5. doi:10.2147/JPR.S355285.
